On the road to prosperity

Provincial, federal governments announced $225M plan

THREE RIVERS — One of the owners of a Souris asphalt company expects to be busy over the next four years.

Craig Chapman of Chapman Brothers is talking about Thursday’s announcement that the federal and provincial governments will spend a combined $225 million fixing roads and bridges.

“That’s quite an investment,’’ Chapman said following Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay’s press conference at Kaylee Hall in Three Rivers.

“I think it’s a positive thing for the (paving) industry as a whole. It creates more work for all of the employees and possibly extends the season. There’s more work and you can keep your people on longer.’’

Work will include resurfacing 270 kilometres of P.E.I.’s national highway system and rehabilitating roads and highways over the next four years. The project will also include the replacement of 18 bridges.

The federal government is investing more than $101 million from the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan. Up until a couple of years ago, roads did not qualify. The province, meanwhile, is chipping in more than $114 million to the roadway projects.

To put things in a bit of perspective, the province budgeted $56 million in roads and bridges improvements in last fall’s capital budget.

The province has had $61 million in federal contributions in the last four years, which would have been matched with provincial funds. This agreement will see that number jump by $36 million over the next four years.

Some of the bridge replacement work will take place in Portage, Bideford, Rustico, St. Peters, Little Sands, Morell, North Lake and Hunter River. Road work will include the Stratford and Bunbury roads, Route 3 – Georgetown Royalty, Route 2 – Morell east, Route 5 – 48 Road, Route 2 – Wellington, Route 12 – Cascumpec and Route 10 – Tryon/Augustine Cove.

The province says 52 kilometres of asphalt work will take place this year while 179 additional locations will be resurfaced over four years. Route 2 in and around Hunter River will be paved as will other spots along that highway. The Albany Y overpass will also see paving.

MacAulay joked that he was late for Thursday’s press conference because of poor road conditions.

“That Cardigan Road is in an awful mess,’’ MacAulay said. “Hopefully, something will be done to it. (And) all you have to do is drive up the St. Peters highway and you can see it’s in poor shape.’’

MacAulay said there are examples across the province of work that desperately needs to be done.

“We need an infusion of dollars and we’re getting it right across the province. You have to have highways and you have to have good highways if you’re going to have tourists and if you’re going to move your products to market,’’ the Cardigan MP said.

P.E.I. Transportation Minister Steven Myers also listed some areas that will see some paving — the road to Georgetown, Queens Road, Route 2 around Lakeside in towards Charlottetown and in Pownal.

“There’s all kinds of spots that are going to see some of this money,’’ Myers said, adding that the money isn’t all geared toward highways. Some side roads will receive work as well. “The Cardigan Road would be one that in the past wouldn’t have qualified for (federal infrastructure) dollars but now does.’’

Chapman said Island roads are under more stress than ever before with population increasing, both residential and tourist, and the amount of truck traffic taking goods to and from market.

Myers agrees.

“We just finished the spring fishery so all the lobsters that are landed on the wharf leave by truck, all of the grain that gets sold comes in by truck and goes out by truck. All of our potatoes . . . go back out with trucks. I think being able to make roads more accessible as a transportation corridor . . . is important,’’ Myers said. “When the weather gets colder it’s a lot harder for plows to scrape the roads right down to bare pavement that everybody expects if there’s bumps and holes in them.’’